The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus having a function of installing device drivers for peripherals connected thereto.
Conventionally, as a data processing device, personal computers are widespread. The personal computer is generally configured such that peripherals such as a printer and a scanner can be connected. An operating system (hereinafter, occasionally referred to as OS) of the personal computer is configured such that device drivers for controlling devices in the peripherals connected to the personal computer can be installed.
As the OS for the personal computer, Windows system® and UNIX® system are known. Such an OS includes a kernel, which is software performing fundamental functions of the OS, and various software groups necessary for operating the system such as an install program which assists in installing the device drivers.
Recently, as the personal computers become widespread, there is a requirement that the operability of the personal computers is improved for users who do not have expert knowledge about the personal computers. As one solution for this requirement, the OS is typically provided with a plug-and-play function, which automatically detects a device in a peripheral connected to the personal computer. In particular, the Windows OS is configured such as to execute an install program which automatically installs a device driver necessary for controlling a detected device when the OS detects a new device.
The install program is typically configured to display a progression of an installation status of the device driver on a display device of the personal computer, and a user can check the progression for the currently installed device driver.
However, the above-described conventional install program supplied with the OS executes the installation of the device driver one by one, and therefore, even when a plurality of device drivers are to be installed, only the progression for each driver can be checked at a time. When a plurality of device drivers are installed sequentially, it is impossible for the user to know the progression of the entire install operation. The user cannot know when the installation of all the drivers is completed.
For example, if a peripheral including a plurality of devices (e.g., a digital multi-function machine including printer and scanner functions) is connected to a personal computer, the OS detects the devices in the connected peripheral, and installs device drivers for the respective devices, sequentially. In such a case, since the conventional install program does not display the progression of the entire install operation (i.e., installation of all of the plurality of device drivers), the user should wait for the completion of the installation without knowing when the installation of all the drivers is finished. Therefore, in such a system, the user may be irritated because of a relatively long installation time period.